Hundreds of pharmacies to shut for day
Hundreds of pharmacies around the country will shut down on Wednesday in what will effectively be a one-day work stoppage, the Sunday Independent has learned.
All 1,600 pharmacists who are members of the Irish Pharmacy Union have been called to a mass meeting in Dublin to discuss the HSE decision to implement a controversial new payment system for pharmacies as of yesterday.
Because medicines can only be dispensed in the presence of a qualified pharmacist, it is likely that many chemists around the country will be unable to fill prescriptions and will close their doors.
It means patients who have urgent prescriptions may have to travel long distances.
The "uni-flu" stoppage follows the HSE plans to reduce the margin paid to pharmaceutical wholesalers in a move aimed at saving €1.1bn.
Wednesday's meeting in the Ballsbridge Inn (formerly Jurys) will continue all day.
It is understood that the IPU are considering legal action against the HSE.
They feel an arguable case could be made by a pharmacist or small number of pharmacists over alleged breach of their individual contracts.
Last year, the HSE paid out more than €600m to pharmaceutical wholesalers and retail pharmacists, according to figures released on Friday.
The HSE paid more than €1.138bn to pharmaceutical manufacturers for drugs provided to patients under a number of State schemes.
In addition, wholesalers received just over €200m, while pharmacists received €237.6m in fees and a further €130.1m in mark-ups.
The figures showed that more than €38m went on VAT, bringing the total expenditure on drugs and medicines to a final figure of €1.745bn.
Michael Guckian, president of the Irish Pharmacy Union, said that the HSE had damned itself with its own figures.
He said the HSE statistics showed that the total fees and margins earned by pharmacists across the country amounted to €367m.
"The HSE say they want to cut the payments to pharmacists by €100m from yesterday, which is a cut of almost 30 per cent," said Mr Guckian.
"If the HSE forces its cuts on pharmacists, we can expect many pharmacies to close over time across the country."
Referring to 2007 figures, Mr Guckian said "the average payment to a pharmacy is in excess of €200,000, out of which the pharmacist must cover salaries and overheads".
The HSE has revealed that 86 pharmacies received fees of more than €500,000 last year. A further 120 received between €400,000 and €500,000, while 226 received between €300,000 to €400,000.
- JEROME REILLY Exclusive
